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A Brief History Of Hellenistic And Vedic Astrology

By Jose Edwards


In astrology, the two most common forms of astrological readings come from either Hellenistic or Hindu astrology. While Vedic astrology is basically the same as the Hindu practice, the term Vedic did not become popular until during the 1970s. Whereas, both practices have been around for quite some time, with Hindu forms becoming more well known during the 19th century.

While the Hindu practice has been going on for quite some time, it was not until the 1970s when the practice became known as a Vedic practice. Whereas, there are some astrologists whom suggest that the Indian astrological practice came from previous Western influences, thus dating the practice back to the Vedic period. In addition, while a number of authors claim that the myths associated with Ramayana and Maharharata forms of the practice had nothing to do with planetary alignment.

Originally Vedic and Western forms were thought to be part of the occult. Whereas, times have changed as there are a number of Indian universities now offering advanced degrees in Vedic form. In the beginning, a number of scientists protested the course offerings as being nothing more than pseudoscience. However, in 2001, the High Court favored the practice and allowed the universities to move forward with such offerings.

The practice is also considered one of the six disciplines which support Hindu observances and rituals. In the beginning, the Hindu form used a calendar to determine sacrificial ritual dates and had nothing to do with planets. While this is the case, demons were mentioned in some forms of the practice. Then, later the term graha, the word formerly recognized as demon became known to mean planet which led to new interpretations of the zodiac.

Coming from a basic foundation focusing on a connection between the microcosm and macrocosm, the sidereal zodiac is much different from the tropic zodiac. In addition, there are interpretations and predictions in the Hindu zodiac which often do not exist in the Western one. Ultimately, both aspects of astrology are used to determine personality aspects and future events though the latter is often much more difficult when it comes to the Hindu zodiac.

The Nirayana or sidereal Nirayana consist of an imaginary belt 360 degrees in diameter which like the Western or tropical zodiac is divided into multiple sections. In the Vedic tradition, each part is known as a rasi while in Western astrological practices the parts are known as signs. While extremely similar, the measurement of planets differ among the two astrological practices.

Both the Hindu and Hellenistic forms appear to be identical on a synchronous level. While this may appear to be the case, the Vedic form primarily uses the sidereal zodiac in which stars are fixed to measure the position of the planets. Whereas, measurement in the Western zodiac is based on the motion of the planets against the Sun at the Spring equinox.

In addition, Western astrological practices and astronomy have always referred to the twelve signs of the zodiac beginning with the sign of Aries. Whereas, the first introduction to the Greek aspects of astrology appeared to have occurred much earlier in history. While this is the case, the earliest astrological chart or reading to be discovered was an Indian text referring to the days of week dating back to 476 A. D.




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